President Galba
President Galba was the president of Panem during and after the Dark Days Rebellion. Biography Early Life Luperca Galba was born in the Capitol twenty years before the First Rebellion. She was part of the Capitol Army during the subsequent Dark Days and quickly rose in the ranks due to high death rates. Near the end of the Dark Days, Panem's president Draco Chalice was assassinated by rebels, along with his second-in-command and many other Capitol politicians. The resulting chaos and power struggle fractured the Capitol and threatened to turn the tide of war. During this, General Galba was able to gain the support of her troops and execute a military takeover, declaring herself interim president under the Capitol doctrine of emergency 60-day dictatorship in the case of presidential death during war. By the end of this period, she was popular and strong enough to retain power, and she became the permanent president. Presidency After the Dark Days, Galba saw the need for an immediate and crushing display of power to cement both the Capitol's position and her own. Her advisers proposed a plan for a yearly deathmatch that would both constantly remind of their authority and pit the Districts against each other to ward against future rebellions. Galba did not personally relish such a savage idea, but she knew such things were necessary to retain power, and she approved the plan, bringing the Hunger Games to life. She considered the Games a necessary but unpleasant matter and kept her involvement in them to a minimum. Galba's focus in her presidency was expediency. She cared little for pomp and circumstance or unnecessary shows of power. Her main concern was retaining her authority and the strength of the Capitol. Though she was not afraid to use force and strictly maintained Capitol law, she was not cruel or bloodthirsty. It was only after her predecessor Coriolanus Snow came to power that the people saw how relatively lenient Galba was. Assassination Galba was always popular among the Capitolites, but as with any dictator, she had her enemies. She quashed dozens of rebellions, both from within and without the Capitol, with the aid of the underground assassin organization she formed in confidential locations within District One. During the 38th year of the Games, a larger rebellion started to brew, arousing Galba's attention. It was impossible to pinpoint where the rebellion originated, since the participants penetrated the fences between the Districts and met in the wilderness in between. Galba, with the aid of her spies, made great headway into identifying the participants. She initiated steps to find and negotiate with them, preferring to neutralize an enemy early rather than engage in bloodshed and create martyrs. Shortly before the 40th Hunger Games, Galba exited her house in the morning to take a train to District Nine, where she and her retinue planned to meet with the rebels. As she walked between her mansion and her vehicle, a sniper in an unknown location fired a single bullet at her, striking her head and killing her instantly. While Galba did have a second-in-command, transitions in power were never smooth in Panem. Would-be rulers jockeyed for power and support, each with their own factions. Adding to the fire was the rumor that the assassination was an inside job using the peace talks as a cover. Eventually, future president Coriolanus Snow won the power struggle and took Galba's place as President. Personality President Galba followed a Machiavellian philosophy in her politics. She preferred to be both loved and feared, but prioritized fear when necessary. She considered the threat of discipline, so long as it backed up by ability if it proved necessary, to be more efficient and beneficial than actual violence. She was willing to do anything necessary to preserve her power, but she preferred to divert threats rather than attack them. Galba was known by her subjects to be unemotional, impartial, and calculating. She expected the best of her employees but was not cruel. Anyone who was not a threat to her was not her concern, and she allowed her citizens to carry on their own lives so long as their interests did not conflict with hers. Education Galba graduated with honors from West Point Military Academy with a specialization in strategy. Throughout her presidency, she maintained a constant study of Pre-Dark Days organized crime as well as business management and categorical logic and rhetoric. Trivia * Galba preferred not to meddle in the Games unless absolutely necessary. The only direct action she took in her 40 years as President was to order the execution of Silken Alois because in his unhinged mental state, he was revealing details about her underground spy agency. * Galba never married or pursued any romantic relationships. She considered a man an unnecessary drain on her time and did not want to have any children, knowing that they would certainly be killed in the power struggles that would result when she eventually died.